California Death Penalty Banned, Deemed Unconstitutional

On Wednesday, a federal court judge banned the California death penalty, citing the system’s extreme delay in executing its prisoners. The state has placed hundreds of felons on death row, but none have been executed since 2006.

Judge Cormac J. Carney of the United States District Court said that the sense of uncertainty and delay “violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.” Approximately 40 percent of California’s 748 death row inmates have been imprisoned for more than 19 years. Judge Carney’s decision is expected to inspire similar arguments in death penalty appeals around the country.